What is the Void?

Rate this ArticleWhat if you could explore new dimensions and worlds, where dreams become reality and imagination has no limits, in person? Well, at The Void, they are making it possible!

What if you could explore new dimensions and worlds, where dreams become reality and imagination has no limits, in person? Well, at The Void, they are making it possible!

Dubbed as the future of gaming, The Vision of Infinite Dimensions, or the VOID for short, seeks to merge virtual reality with real-life environments by building massive centres and then creating virtual worlds over the physical environment, providing a thrilling virtually realistic experience like no other! It’ll be like the Dream Park (from the sci-fi novel written by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes in 1981 of the same name) coming true! After all, as their catch phrase goes “Why play the game when you can live it?” This sounds exciting and all, but what exactly is The Void?

The Void is the next generation of immersive role playing where you can fully experience everything from haunted mansions to dinosaur parks; from futuristic battlegrounds to enchanted forests! And when the people behind The Void say “experience”, they do really mean it! You’ll be able to actually “feel” physical sensations, such as vibrations, air pressure, cold and heat, moisture, simulated liquids and smell, through their high-tech virtual reality gear. The advanced technologies that The Void provides are also able to create the illusion the player is exploring a vast expanse of simulated landscape or tall buildings without actually leaving the “game pod”, the physical stage or room that you’re experiencing the game in.

There are even plenty of 4D environmental effects coupled with physical props as well as beautifully computer-rendered environments that add to the feeling of virtual realism! This includes strategically placed sprinklers to emulate the effects of rain or gas spurting out from props to emulate smoke in the game. The effect of presence in the virtual world created by The Void is maximized due to these many technologies and effects. In fact, one of the rare first people to try out The Void was quoted saying that “Despite knowing that you’re safe in real life, you still can’t bear the thought of stepping off the edge of a virtual cliff in the game” It’s simply amazing!

Most of the feeling that you’ll be experiencing in The Void is generated by the Rapture virtual reality suit that you’ll be wearing. The suit consists of a head mounted display (HMD), a lightweight vest and a pair of sensors-layered gloves. The Void claims that its Rapture HMD is much better than the ones (*cough* Oculus Rift *cough*) that will be available commercially for the public later this year as the HMD, powered by quantum dots, will have very high definition resolution in each eye. The HMD will also have high-tech head tracking with sub-millimeter accuracy (I’m sure you won’t fancy walking into a wall) and an audio system with a binaural design!

For the Rapture vest, it is able to allow you to feel every bullet, laser burn mark and creature interaction (bites, claw marks) that you experienced in-game, besides being lightweight and fully adjustable to fit any normal adult body size. The vest doesn’t merely vibrates – it gives every virtual reality object that comes in contact a life of its own! Moreover, the Rapture gloves help players to “feel” and interact with the virtual world with their hands! They can also provide you with some special abilities that no real life person has, such as manipulating in-game objects, casting spells and even using superhuman powers!

At The Void, you will, too, be able to experience their proprietary custom motion simulators that contain 2 seats to provide a myriad of simulated experiences, such as airplane dogfights, vehicular warfare, mech battles, deep space or even underwater exploration! The simulators are entirely interactive and can perform an amazing 360-degree motion over 3 axis rotations (roll, pitch and yaw) and lift. Can you imagine what it will feel like when your airplane experienced an engine failure while in the sky in one of these simulators, especially when the simulator is working together with your Rapture suit to provide you with the sensation of free fall? You’ll definitely feel the dizzying effects even after you’ve returned to real life! Not to mention, in order to be able to provide so many different simulated experiences, the simulators use swappable control devices instead of a fixed one. After all, the joystick in a plane is a lot different than a car’s steering wheel, don’t you agree?

The best part is that you can even play with or against your friends in The Void! Have you always wanted to gather a party of friends in real life and go slay a dragon? Or you’ve always wanted to fight side-by-side with your friends as you defend an object or a gateway from waves after waves of ferocious aliens. Well, now you can! The Void can certainly take laser tag to a whole new level too! The company also promises to provide new dimensions and updates every quarter of a year to keep the content fresh and exciting!

In conclusion, The Void is poised to permanently alter the future of immersive technology and entertainment and once it is launched in Pleasant Grove, Utah summer next year, players from around the world will definitely be flocking to the centre to enjoy the experience of a lifetime! Will you be there as well?